UC-NRLF 


• 


c\&3 


GIFT   OF 


APR  15 


VIEWING  LIFE  AFTER 
87  YEARS 


BY 


BENJAMIN  SANFORD 


VIEWING  LIFE  AFTER 
87  YEARS 


BY 
BENJAMIN  SANFORD 


DEDICATION 

To  the  men,  women,  and  children  who  do  the 
useful  and  necessary  work  of  the  world  (physical 
and  mental)  this  little  book  is  respectfully  dedi- 
cated, being  the  class  in  society  with  whom  Jesus 
associated  and  sympathized;  the  common  people, 
who  also  heard  him  gladly, — whose  duty  it  is  to 
hear  him  gladly  (and  him  alone)  today,  as  judge 
of  the  living  and  the  dead. 

"He  that  will  not  work  neither  shall  he  eat" 
"Have  any  of  the  Rulers  believed?" 


Copyright,  1919,  by  Benjamin  Sanford 
Smartsville,  Yuba  Co.,  Calif. 


PREFACE. 

I  do  not  feel  competent  to  write  on  this  great  subject 
in  my  eighty-eighth  year.  I  have  been  impfessed  for 
several  years  to  communicate  ideas  to  my  fellow  travelers 
to  eternity;  impressed  with  the  thought  that  I  must  do 
it  soon  or  not  at  all,  in  view  of  the  bad  use  the  world  has 
made  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments;  the  denials  in 
theory  and  practice,  and  misconstruction.  When  two 
laws  or  covenants  are  mixed,  it  is  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other. 

My  father  needed  my  help;  my  early  education  was 
neglected;  my  bank  account  is  small — I  wish,  therefore, 
to  make  this  book  largely  suggestive  to  induce  the  study 
of  all  that  is  said  on  a  certain  subject.  For  instance, 
there  are  some  seven  or  eight  things  by  which  we  are 
said  to  be  saved.  It  takes  all  of  them  to  make  the  whole 
truth.  When  any  subject  is  mentioned,  such  as  faith, 
baptism,  or  the  Holy  Spirit,  we  should  receive  it  with 
its  concomitants,  not  in  the  abstract,  nor  build  on  an 
obscure  passage  to  contradict  a  plain  one. 

This  is  not  an  enquiry  to  prove  the  Bible  true  or  false, 
but  to  ascertain  whether  we  are  shaping  our  lives  in 
accordance  with  the  plain  obvious  teachings  of  the  bible, 
without  contradictions  in  theory  or  practice,  or  miscon- 
struction of  its  language.  And  also  to  set  forth  the 
superiority  of  the  New  over  the  Old  Testament.  Newer, 
higher,  more  spiritual,  better  adapted  to  the  wants  of 
humanity — present  and  future;  broader  over  the  whole 
earth,  not  like  the  old,  no  remembrance  of  sin.  If  the 
first  had  been  found  faultless,  a  place  would  not  have 
been  sought  for  the  second. 

4.16420 


(Acts  XIV:  16.)  "Who  in  times  past  suffered  all 
nations  to  walk  in  their  own  ways." 

Paul's  language  plainly  stated,  cannot  be  given  a 
figurative  interpretation;  nothing  to  typify  the  nations 
except  the  nations  themselves ;  embraces  the  inhabited 
earth — always  spoken  of  in  the  plural,  the  Gentile  nations, 
except  the  nation  of  Israel  and  Judah,  the  chosen  nation 
which  is  always  spoken  of  in  the  single  number. 

The  truth  of  God  does  not  require  that  any  fact  of 
history  should  be  denied.  I  heard  a  clergyman  say, 
"Truth  is  a  unit,  one  truth  agrees  with  every  other 
truth." 

Paul  was  chosen  by  Jesus  and  sent  to  the  Gentiles  to 
open  their  eyes,  and  to  turn  them  from  the  power  .of 
Satan  unto  God  (best  of  authority).  He  said,  "In  times 
past  I  have  not  learned  of  any  Gentile  nation  being 
brought  into  covenant  relation  to  God."  God  rested  on 
the  seventh  day.  We  are  justified  in  calling  it  God's 
rest  day,  one  day  by  itself  (no  anniversaries).  The 
Sabbath  mentioned  for  the  first  time  in  the  bible  some 
fifteen  hundred  years  later,  was  a  month  day,  the  first 
day  of  the  month  followed  by  six  working  days.  God, 
through  Moses,  commanded  the  Jews  to  keep  it  in 
remembrance  of  their  freedom  from  Egyptian  bondage. 
If  God's  rest  day  was  binding  on  nations  up  to  this 
time,  it  would  be  a  contradiction  of  the  16th  verse  quoted 
above. 

(Deut.  V :  2.)  "The  Lord  our  God  made  a  covenant 
with  us  at  Horeb.  The  Lord  made  not  this  covenant 
with  our  fathers,  but  with  us,  even  us,  who  are  all  of  us 
here  alive  this  day." 

(Deut.  V:  6j  "I  am  the  Lord  thy  God,  which 
brought  thee  out  of  the  land  of  Egypt,  from  the  house 
of  Bondage." 


Then  follow  the  Ten  Commandments,  including  the 
Sabbath.  (Deut.  V :  15.)  "And  remember  that  thou 
wast  a  servant  in  the  land  of  Egypt,  and  that  the  Lord 
thy  God  brought  thee  out  hence,  through  a  mighty  hand, 
and  by  a  stretched  out  arm :  therefore,  the  Lord  thy  God 
commanded  thee  to  keep  the  Sabbath  day." 

How  could  any  Gentile  or  all  Gentiles  remember  their 
bond  service  in  Egypt  ?  This  would  include  the  Canaan- 
ites  whom  Stephen  said  in  (Acts  VII:  4-5),  "Our  Fath- 
ers drove  them  out  till  the  days  of  David."  Four  hun- 
dred years  they  were  ordered  to  be  killed.  The  nations 
would  include  the  Egyptians.  Were  they  in  bondage  to 
themselves?  Were  they  led  out  by  a  mighty  hand? 
This  would  be  confusion,  of  which  God  is  not  the  author. 
The  Gentiles  kept  their  identity  as  such  till  the  Christian 
era.  The  veil  of  the  temple  was  rent.  Peter  said,  "It  is 
unlawful  for  me  to  enter  the  house  of  a  Gentile."  Paul 
says,  "God  made  of  the  twain  one  new  man." 

(Acts  XIII:  46.)     "Lb  we  turn  to  the  Gentiles." 

(Exodus  XXXI:  16-17.)  "Wherefore  the  children  of 
Israel  shall  keep  the  Sabbath,  to  observe  the  Sabbath 
throughout  their  generations,  for  a  perpetual  covenant." 
"It  is  a  sign  between  me  and  the  children  of  Israel  for 
ever;  for  in  six  days  the  Lord  made  heaven  and  earth, 
and  on  the  seventh  day  He  rested,  and  was  refreshed." 

There  are  two  reasons  given  to  the  Jews  for  keeping 
the  Sabbath.  First,  in  memory  of  Egyptian  bondage. 
Second,  it  is  a  sign  between  them  for  in  six  days  He  made 
heaven  and  earth  and  rested  on  the  seventh.  No  com- 
mand here  for  Gentiles  to  keep  the  Sabbath  day. 

Paul  said,  the  Gentiles  were  a  law  unto  themselves, 
which  could  not  be  true  if  God  had  put  them  under  cov- 


enant  relation  with  him  previously.  Gentiles  were  avail- 
able to  become  Jews  by  adoption,  the  males  being  circum- 
cised, or  born  in  the  house  of  a  Jew,  or  bought  with  his 
money.  Those  would  be  debtor  to  do  the  whole  law. 
This  could  not  happen  if  they  were  under  the  same  law 
before.  The  Sabbath  was  not  for  Arctic  regions  which 
have  few  twenty-four  hour  days,  if  any. 

If  it  were  the  duty  of  all  people  to  keep  the  rest  day 
of  Gen.  2-3,  called  also  Seventh  Day,  it  would  be  con- 
tradictory to  the  16th  verse  quoted  above.  He  rested 
only  once.  What  were  the  anniversaries  of  the  day  up 
to  the  time  He  gave  the  Sabbath  to  the  children  of  Israel 
because  of  their  freedom  ?  Could  He  give  a  day,  binding 
on  all  previously,  to  the  children  of  Israel?  Would  not 
one  rest  day  be  logical  in  imitation  of  God's  rest  day,  and 
in  absences  of  anniversary  qualifications?  The  Israelites 
were  commanded  to  make  no  fire,  nor  go  out  of  the 
house.  I  believe  the  Gentiles  were  never  accused  of 
Sabbath  breaking  (no  law,  no  transgression).  The  law 
of  the  Jews  was  as  broad  as  the  land  of  Canaan  and  no 
broader.  The  same  may  be  said  of  all  nations.  We 
have  no  more  right  to  say  the  law  of  the  Lord  by  Moses 
was  given  to  all  people,  than  we  have  to  say,  He  gave  the 
land  of  Canaan  to  all  people.  To  assert  that  the  Gentile 
Nations  were  required  to  keep  the  seventh  day  for  four 
thousand  years,  by  staying  in  the  house  and  making  no 
fire,  would  be  a  monstrous  assumption.  (Exod.  35:  1-3.) 

The  Sabbath  was  made  for  Palestine;  a  mild  climate. 
No  promised  blessing  to  a  Jew  out  of  Palestine,  but  if 
disobedient  should  be  a  fugitive. 

In  conversation  with  a  gentleman,  he  made  the  follow- 
ing statement,  "God  tells  us  to  keep  the  Sabbath."  I 


replied,  "He  does  not  tell  us  any  such  thing;  you  and  I 
are  Gentiles."  "God,  who  at  sundry  times  and  in  divers 
manners  spake  in  times  past  unto  the  Fathers  (also 
Hebrews),  by  the  prophets,  hath  in  these  last  days 
spoken  unto  us  by  his  Son."  God  did  not  speak  to  the 
Hebrews  to  whom  Paul  wrote  by  the  Prophets,  but  to 
their  fathers. 

Example:  If  Mr.  A  is  spoken  to,  Mr.  B  has  no 
right  to  answer.  I  called  it  the  Jewish  Sabbath.  "Why 
do  you  do  so?"  said  the  man.  I  answered,  "Because  it 
was  given  to  Jews  (Israelites)  and  to  nobody  else."  In 
the  end  of  the  Sabbath,  I  am  told  this  word  is  plural  in 
the  Greek  Testament;  as  it  began  to  dawn  toward  the 
first  day  of  the  week,  came  Mary  Magdalene. 

A  Baptist  clergyman  told  me  that  every  time  the  first 
day  of  the  week  and  Lord's  day  are  mentioned  in  the 
Greek  New  Testament,  the  word  sabbaton  is  used,  same 
as  stands  for  what  we  call  seventh  day  Sabbath, 
until  near  the  end  of  the  book,  when  another  term  is 
used.  He  said  it  should  read — first  Sabbath,  and  second 
Sabbath.  Sabbath  is  a  month  day,  with  six  working 
days  between,  in  the  Old  Testament.  Translators  could 
not  change  it.  It  moved  forward  one  day  every  year 
on  account  of  the  odd  day  on  January  1st  which  we  keep 
as  New  Year's.  No  matter  what  day  of  the  week  it  is, 
which  is  proved  by  the  almanac ;  this  is  true  of  any  fixed 
calendar  date.  Every  four  years  another  day  is  counted 
on  the  twenty-ninth  day  of  February,  when  a  birthday 
moves  forward  two  days.  Fifty-two  weeks  and  one  day 
(New  Year).  If  a  bridge  is  covered  with  fifty-two 
poles  and  we  wish  to  add  one  on  New  Year's  anniversary, 
we  must  crowd  one  pole  off  the  other  side,  and  on  leap 


year,  two.  I  think  translators  thought  it  was  proper, 
with  regard  to  Sabbath  in  the  English  Testament,  to  say 
first  day  of  the  week.  Both  are  month  days  in  the  old 
bible  in  English,  and  of  course,  in  Greek.  The  Israelites 
were  commanded  to  keep  the  first,  eighth,  and  fifteenth 
day  of  the  month  as  Sabbath,  with  six  work  days  be- 
tween Sabbaths.  This  would  be  so  for  one  year.  The 
second  year  they  had  to  keep  the  first  day  of  the  same 
month  a  Sabbath ;  an  odd  day  had  been  added. 

Mr.  Gamble  teaches  that  the  first  Sabbath  kept  by  the 
Jews  (if  I  remember  correctly)  was  on  what  we  call 
Saturday.  The  second  year  on  Sunday,  and  the  third 
on  Monday,  with  one  work  day  between  two  Sabbaths ; 
one  of  them  a  year  old ;  one  new  for  a  year.  The  third 
year  there  would  be  two  work  days  between,  etc. 

(I  Cor.  XIV:  37.)  "If  any  man  think  himself  to  be 
a  prophet,  or  spiritual,  let  him  acknowledge  that  the 
things  that  I  write  unto  you  are  the  commandments  of 
the  Lord." 

(I  Cor.  XVI:  2.)  "Upon  the  first  day  of  the  week 
let  every  one  of  you  lay  by  him  in  store,  as  God  hath 
prospered  him."  Two  clergymen  told  me  that  every 
time  the  first  day  of  the  week  and  the  Lord's  day  are 
mentioned  in  the  New  Testament,  the  Greek  word,  Sab- 
baton,  is  used  to  express  them,  until  near  the  end  of  the 
book,  when  another  term  is  used. 

Romans  XI:  4.     "Gentiles  have  not  the  Law." 

(Romans  VIII:  2.)  "The  law  of  the  spirit  of  life  in 
Christ  Jesus  has  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin  and 
death."  This  is  higher  than  morality. 

Romans  X:  4.     Christ  is  end  of  the  law. 

"All  are  baptized  by  one  spirit  into  one  body." 


(II  Cor.  X:  12.)  "They  measuring  themselves  by 
themselves  are  not  wise."  (XI:  13.)  "For  such  are 
false  apostles." 

(Col.  1:13.)  "Hath  translated  us  into  the  kingdom 
(church)  of  his  dear  Son." 

(Col.  2:12.)  "Buried  with  him  in  baptism,  wherein 
also  ye  are  risen  with  him  to  walk  in  newness  of  life." 
14th  verse :  "Blotting  out  the  handwriting  of  ordinances 
that  was  against  us,  took  it  out  of  the  way,  nailing  it  to 
the  cross." 

(Acts  1:4.)  Commanded  them  not  to  depart  from 
Jerusalem,  but  wait  for  the  promise  of  the  Father.  8th 
verse:  "But  ye  shall  receive  power,  after  that  the  Holy 
Spirit  is  come  upon  you :  to  guide  them  in  all  truth  and 
bring  things  to  their  remembrance."  This  will  apply  to 
no  others  than  the  twelve  apostles.  Meeting  our  highest 
conception  of  spirituality. 

(John  XV:  26.)  "But  when  the  Comforter  is  come, 
whom  I  will  send  unto  you  from  the  Father,  even  the 
Spirit  of  truth,  which  proceedeth  from  the  Father,  he 
shall  testify  of  me."  Qualified  as  no  others  ever  were, 
and  to  sit  on  twelve  thrones  in  judgment. 

(Read  John  XIV:  i$th  to  end  of  chapter). 

"Teaching  for  doctrine  the  commandments  of  men, 
is  vain  worship." 

It  seems  to  me  the  dispensation  of  John  was  tempo- 
rary ;  it  commenced  with  John  and  ended  with  the  death 
of  Christ.  "You  have  one  who  judges  you,  even  Moses 
in  whom  you  trust."  Jesus  was  to  fulfill  the  law,  not 
destroy  it.  "Jesus  made  and  baptized  more  disciples 
than  John.  The  disciples  did  the  baptizing  in  the  name 
or  authority  of  the  Father;  the  Comforter  (Third  Per- 


son)  had  not  yet  come.  They  were  not  baptized  in  the 
name  of  the  Trinity,  which  only  is  Christian  baptism. 
This  is  proved  by  the  disciples  of  John  who  had  not 
learned  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  dis- 
ciples had  asked  nothing  in  Jesus'  name  up  to  near  the 
time  of  his  betrayal.  We  ought  not  to  find  fault  with 
anything  God  has  done.  If  we  claim  the  bible  is  true, 
we  should  not  contradict  or  change  anything  in  theory 
or  practice. 

Forty  odd  denominations  are  trying  to  form  one 
church  (so  I  read).  To  quote  Peter's  sermon  at  Pente- 
cost is  not  acceptable  to  them.  "They  are  neither  born 
of  water  nor  the  spirit  as  taught  by  Jesus."  That  ser- 
mon will  be  in  order  until  the  day  of  judgment, — the  cul- 
mination of  the  wisdom  of  God.  Why  not?  "He  that 
breaks  one  of  these  least  commandments  shall  be  called 
least  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

I  think  water  baptism  and  spirit  baptism  are  different 
subjects.  Water  baptism  is  administered  by  man;  is 
highly  figurative.  Spirit  baptism  is  administered  by  the 
Godhead  once  for  all  as  far  as  we  know,  and  is  in  no 
sense  figurative.  We  cannot  interpret  one  by  the  other. 
Godhead-three  persons,  in  an  official  sense. 

The  Israelites  were  required  to  remember  the  Sab- 
bath day  because  they  were  brought  out  of  Egyptian 
bondage  which  they  could  remember  personally;  also 
there  was  mention  made  of  the  Sabbath  for  the  first  time 
in  the  bible,  a  short  time  previously  in  connection  with 
the  manna.  No  human  being  alive  at  that  time  could 
remember  God's  rest  day  fifteen  hundred  years  previously, 
in  the  same  way.  The  Gentiles  had  some  kind  of  natural 
morality,  otherwise  they  could  not  multiply ;  not  one  babe 

10 


in  a  thousand  could  live  by  its  own  efforts.  Clergymen 
tell  us  a  man  may  be  a  moral  man  and  not  be  a  Christian. 
They  call  the  Ten  Commandments  the  Moral  Law. 

I  am  the  Lord  thy  God  which  brought  thee  out  of  the 
house  of  bondage, — no  Gentiles  there. 

The  Canaanite  says,  "I  never  was  in  Egypt."  The 
Egyptian  says,  "I  never  was  in  bondage,  never  led  out 
by  the  hand,  it  cannot  mean  me."  The  Canaanite  says, 
"It  cannot  mean  me.  I  am  to  be  killed  or  driven  out." 

To  keep  the  Sabbath  because  God  commanded  it  was 
right.  We  will  call  it  moral,  positive.  To  honor  our 
parents  is  right.  We  will  call  it  moral,  natural,  and  also 
ceremonial. 

(Ex.  XXIII:  27.).  "I  will  send  my  fear  before  thee, 
and  will  destroy  all  the  people  to  whom  thou  shalt  come : 
and  I  will  make  all  thine  enemies  turn  their  backs  unto 
thee,  and  I  will  send  hornets  before  thee,  which  shall  drive 
out  the  Hivite,  the  Canaanite,  and  the  Hittite,  from  be- 
fore thee.  I  will  not  drive  them  out  from  before  thee  in 
one  year :  lest  the  land  become  desolate,  and  the  beast  of 
the  field  multiply  against  thee.  By  little  will  I  drive  them 
out  from  before  thee  until  thou  be  increased,  and  inherit 
the  land.  I  will  set  thy  bounds  from  the  Red  Sea  even 
unto  the  sea  of  the  Philistines,  and  from  the  desert  unto 
the  river,  for  I  will  deliver  the  inhabitants  of  the  land 
into  your  hand;  and  thou  shalt  drive  them  out  before 
thee.  Thou  shalt  make  no  covenant  with  them  nor  with 
their  Gods.  They  shall  not  dwell  in  thy  land  lest  they 
make  thee  sin  against  me,  for  if  thou  serve  their  Gods, 
it  will  surely  be  a  snare  unto  thee." 

God's  chosen  nation  included  land,  not  so  with  his 
church  or  kingdom  on  earth. 

11 


(Lev.  XXIII:  39.)  "Also  in  the  fifteenth  day  of  the 
seventh  month,  when  ye  have  gathered  in  the  fruit  of  the 
land,  ye  shall  keep  a  feast  unto  the  Lord  seven  days.  On 
the  first  day  shall  be  a  Sabbath,  and  on  the  eighth  day 
shall  be  a  Sabbath."  These  are  month  days.  Alexander 
Campbell  said,  "There  is  nothing  in  nature  to  indicate 
the  week." 

Lev.  XXV:  18-23.     "Blessings  for  obedience  to  laws." 

Lev.  XXVI:  3-14.  "A  curse  to  them  that  break 
them."  40-46  verse:  I  will  scatter  you  among  the 
heathen.  "These  are  statutes,  and  judgments,  and  laws, 
which  the  Lord  made  between  Him  and  the  children  of 
Israel  in  Mount  Sinai."  These  laws  will  not  fit  any  other 
time,  place,  or  people ;  were  not  binding  on  Gentiles  ex- 
cept those  who  became  Jews  by  adoption. 

We  cannot  improve  on  God's  work.  We  might  as 
well  try  to  make  a  world.  We  cannot  suggest  an  im- 
provement on  any  of  God's  creatures.  If  God  added  the 
law  because  of  transgression,  as  Paul  tells  us,  till  Christ 
came,  it  was  temporary.  It  was  probably  added  to  the 
promise  made  to  Abraham  of  blessing  to  all  nations.  He 
was  the  end  of  it. 

It  did  not  fail ;  it  was  fulfilled,'  not  under  the  law,  but 
under  grace.  Christ  is  the  end  of  Law.  The  law  of  the 
spirit  of  life  in  Christ  Jesus  has  made  me  free  from  the 
law  of  sin  arid  death.  This  law  by  Moses  condemned  to 
death.  They  died  without  mercy  under  two  or  three 
witnesses.  Christ  took  away  the  commandments  con- 
tained in  ordinances,  written  and  engraven  in  stone  (the 
ten  commandments — Ex.  XX),  nailing  them  to  the  cross. 
Please  read  all  that  is  said  as  to  superiority  of  the  new 
over  the  old  covenant.  There  are  hundreds  of  plain 

12 


statements.  Carnal  warfare,  polygamy,  and  retaliation 
may  be  taught  from  the  Old  Testament,  but  not  from  the 
New.  The  question  was  asked,  "Why  did  our  fore- 
fathers persecute,  religiously,  to  death  ?"  The  answer  was, 
probably,  they  drew  their  lessons  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment instead  of  the  New.  Is  it  possible  the  world  has 
treated  God's  jewels  in  a  swine-like  manner?  Being  of- 
fered bread  they  chose  a  stone.  The  style  of  the  Old 
Testament  is  "thou  shalt"  and  "thou  shalt  not/'  as  to 
minor  children.  We  love  God  because  he  first  loved  us, 
is  the  style  of  the  New  Testament.  Future  punishment 
is  scarcely  hinted  at  in  the  Old  Testament.  They  were 
promised  protection  from  their  enemies  by  keeping  God's 
law  by  Moses.  Who  claims  that  promise  now  ?  Millions 
have  been  killed  in  carnal  warfare,  both  religiously  and 
otherwise.  If  the  world  had  used  the  bible  according  to 
its  own  teaching,  the  wars  from  the  Christian  era  till 
this  date,  March  20,  1919,  might  have  been  avoided. 
(Incalculable  loss  in  life,  treasure,  and  happiness). 
Jesus  said,  "If  my  kingdom  were  of  this  world,  then 
would  my  servants  fight."  James  says :  "Whence  come 
wars  and  fighting  among  you,  come  they  not  of  your  own 
lusts?" 

The  great  nations  are  at  this  time  trying  to  form  a 
League  of  Nations  to  prevent  future  wars.  Surely  we 
ought  to  have  God's  plan  incorporated. 

Moses  told  the  Jews  to  hear  Christ.  They  were  dis- 
obedient to  Moses.  God  said  they  broke  his  covenant  and 
he  regarded  them  not.  (Isaiah  1-13)  (Hosea  2-11). 
Also  he  would  take  their  Sabbaths  from  them.  They  lost 
their  national  standing  in  A.  D.  70.  Land,  laws,  and 
everything  which  previously  had  distinguished  them. 

13 


The  new  and  better  covenant,  established  on  better 
promises,  embraces  the  whole  world.  "The  times  of 
ignorance  God  winked  at,  but  now  He  commands  all  men 
everywhere  to  repent." 

There  is  nothing  in  the  Old  Testament  as  broad  as 
this  except  in  promise  or  prophecy.  Then  comes  the 
blundering,  calling  the  Jewish  nation  the  Church,  and 
trying  to  put  the  Gentile  nations  into  it.  It  is  like  mak- 
ing Jonah  swallow  the  whale.  I  doubt  if  they  could  find 
standing  room  in  Palestine.  Paul  says,  "God  took  of 
the  twain  and  made  one  new  man."  There  was  no  greater 
prophet  than  John :  Christ  says,  "He  that  is  least  in  the 
kingdom  of  heaven  is  greater  than  he."  John  lived  in 
the  end  of  the  Jewish  dispensation.  About  the  day  Jesus 
was  betrayed  he  said  to  his  disciples,  "Hitherto  ye  have 
asked  nothing  in  my  name."  He  administered  the  bap- 
tism of  John  by  his  disciples,  by  the  Father's  authority. 
The  Holy  Spirit  or  Comforter  was  not  yet  given.  No 
Christian  baptism  until  Pentecost.  Previous  to  this  time 
God's  people  were  called  "Saints,"  not  Christians.  They 
were  called  Christians  first  at  Antioch.  Why  were  not 
millions  of  Jews  in  good  standing  with  God  at  the  death 
of  Christ,  having  been  baptized  of  John's  baptism  and 
done  all  that  was  required  of  them  up  to  this  time  ? 

The  prayer  that  Jesus  gave  to  his  disciples  referred 
to  the  kingdom  of  heaven  which  he  said  was  nigh  at 
hand,  even  at  the  door.  This  prayer  seems  to  be  not  in 
order  now  for  two  reasons.  The  kingdom  came  when 
Jesus  became  the  chief  cornerstone,  and  that  prayer  for 
the  coming  kingdom  was  not  in  Jesus'  name.  He  also 
told  them  in  future  to  pray  the  Father  in  His  name,  hence 
Christian  prayer,  also  temporary.  He  told  them  also,  not 

14 


to  go  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles.  They  were  not  yet 
qualified  to  teach.  This  was  nullified  after  Pentecost. 

Jesus  prayed  for  all  believers  through  the  apostles' 
word.  That  is  (the  Lord's  prayer)  encouraging  to  all, 
and  of  great  interest  to  mankind.  Jesus  said,  "It  is  ex- 
pedient that  I  go  away,  that  the  Comforter  may  come." 
Suppose  Jesus  had  remained,  how  long  would  each  of  his 
sermons  be  to  the  millions  of  earth  ?  We  infer  from  this 
that  the  presence  of  the  Comforter  (the  third  person  of 
the  Godhead)  was  of  more  importance  to  the  world  than 
the  presence  of  Jesus.  Perhaps  this  is  the  reason  why 
Jesus  said,  "There  is  no  forgiveness  for  sin  against  the 
Holy  Spirit."  We  perceive  the  need  of  the  Comforter 
to  bring  things  to  the  remembrance  of  the  apostles  which 
Jesus  had  told  them,  and  to  qualify  them  in  every  way 
to  understand,  speak  and  write  all  things  necessary  in  his 
kingdom  (a  spiritual  house  not  fixed  to  the  soil)  or 
church,  of  which  He  became  the  chief  cornerstone.  "I 
will  drink  no  more  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine  till  I  drink 
it  new  with  you  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  He  was  known 
to  drink  with  them  after  he  arose  from  the  dead.  The 
church  was  built  by  the  teaching  and  example  of  the 
apostles  mainly,  until  the  New  Testament  was  put  in  book 
form.  We  perceive  the  necessity  of  inspiration  from  the 
question  that  disciples  asked  Jesus  after  the  resurrection. 

"Lord,  wilt  thou,  at  this  time,  restore  again  the  king- 
dom of  Israel"  (as  in  day  of  David  and  Solomon).  It 
seemed  to  take  the  vision  of  the  great  white  sheet  to 
convince  Peter  that  God  was  now  no  respector  of  persons ; 
Peter  having  previously  told  Jesus  he  should  not  suffer 
and  die. 

(Romans  1:25.)     "Who   changed  the  truth  of  God 

15 


into  a  lie,  and  worshiped  the  creature  more  than  the 
Creator." 

(Romans  2:14).  "The  Gentiles  who  have  not  the  law 
are  a  law  unto  themselves  (no  law,  no  transgression). 

(Romans  V :  13. )  "Sin  in  the  world  before  law,  not 
imputed." 

(Romans  VI:  3-4.)  "Baptized  into  Christ.  There- 
fore we  are  buried  with  him  by  baptism,  into  death,  that 
like  as  Christ  was  raised  up  from  the  dead  by  the  glory 
of  the  Father,  even  so  we  should  walk  in  newness  of  life. 

Paul  calls  baptism  a  burial  and  resurrection,  which  a 
few  drops  of  water  cannot  typify. 

(Romans  VI:  17.)  "Obeyed  from  the  heart  that  form 
of  doctrine  which  was  delivered  you."  No  substitute  or 
proxy — obedience. 

(Romans  VIII:  2.)  "For  the  law  of  the  Spirit  of  life, 
in  Christ  Jesus,  hath  made  me  free  from  the  law  of  sin 
and  death." 

(Romans  VIII:  31.)  "If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be 
against  us  ?" 

(I  Cor.  Ill:  4.).  "For  while  one  saith,  'I  am  of  Paul ;' 
another,  'I  am  of  Apollos/  are  ye  not  carnal?" 

(I  Cor.  XI:  i.)  "Be  ye  followers  of  me,  even  as  I 
also  am  of  Christ." 

(I  Cor.  XII:  13.)  "For  by  one  spirit  are  we  all  bap- 
tized into  one  body,  whether  we  be  Jews  or  Gentiles, 
whether  we  be  bond  or  free.  And  have  been  all  made  to 
drink  into  one  spirit." 

Millions  of  our  race  do  not  know  of  their  own  per- 
sonality that  they  have  received  any  kind  of  water  bap- 
tism. It  is  a  matter  of  history,  to  those  said  to  have  been 
baptized  in  infancy. 


16 


We  are  told  to  obey  from  the  heart  the  form  of  doc- 
trine delivered  to  the  saints,  which  is  much  better.  We 
ought  not  to  be  ashamed  of  Jesus  and  his  words  and 
appointments.  He  came  by  water  and  blood  and  eight 
souls  were  saved  by  water.  Peter  calls  it  a  figure 
and  saves  us  now,  and  we  are  said  to  be  saved  by  seven 
or  eight  acts  of  obedience, — all  make  the  whole  truth,  "and 
when  you  have  done  all  consider  yourselves  unprofitable 
servants."  I  can  think  of  no  more  beautiful  figure  of 
Christ's  burial  and  resurrection  indicated  by  the  Greek 
word  baptizo,  and  the  Hebrew  word  emergo,  which  is  as 
old  as  the  Greek.  The  Greek  word  for  sprinkling  is 
rantizo,  never  used  to  indicate  baptism,  as  far  as  I  know. 

I  witnessed  the  so-called  baptism  of  an  infant.  The 
one  officiating  sprinkled  water  in  the  name  of  the  Trin- 
ity, and  used  the  word  which  originally  meant  immerse, — 
if  he  was  attached  to  the  mode  of  sprinkling,  why  did  he 
not  use  the  word  sprinkle  instead  of  baptize,  which  indis- 
putably means  burial?  Confusing  language  (sprinkling, 
a  figure  of  nothing) . 

I  heard  a  professor  say  that  there  is  not  between  the 
two  lids  of  the  bible  a  command  for  sprinkling  pure  water 
on  any  person  or  thing.  In  trying  to  follow  the  plain 
teaching  of  the  bible,  no  example  for  sprinkling  in  the 
New  Testament. 

Peter  opened  the  door  to  the  Jews  at  Pentecost. 
"Unto  you  first,"  and  to  the  Gentiles  in  the  Household  of 
Cornelius. 

Peter  wrote  that  the  people  might  be  guided  thereby 
after  his  death,  that  is  the  way  in  which  he  wished  to  use 
his  apostolic  office. 


17 


The  words  of  Jesus,  and  the  thirteen  inspired  apostles 
are  of  supreme  authority  till  the  day  of  judgment. 

"The  words  I  speak  unto  you  they  are  spirit  and  life, 
and  they  shall  judge  you  at  the  last  day." 

J.  W.  McGarvey  said  that  Jesus  kept  the  last  Sabbath 
of  divine  appointment  when  he  lay  in  the  grave,  the  next 
day  (Sabbaton)  called  first  day  of  the  week  in  English 
New  Testament,  lacking  much  of  absolute  rest.  It 
would  have  been  very  much  out  of  order.  Jesus  would 
not  have  arisen.  I  think  this  the  greatest  day  on  earth. 

We  have  apostolic  precept  and  example  for  doing 
something  on  the  Lord's  day  or  its  weekly  anniversaries. 
I  believe  God  had  taken  the  Sabbath  from  the  Jews  as 
he  said  he  would,  as  quoted  above  in  Isaiah  1 :13,  and 
Hosea  2:11.  Should  it  be  thought  strange  that  God 
would  do  as  He  said  He  would? 

The  church  of  Christ  was  established  under  the  guid- 
ance of  the  apostles,  with  its  elders  and  deacons,  and  its 
first  day  of  the  week  worship.  When  Constantine  joined 
Christianity  to  the  paganism  of  Rome,  he  took  it  just  as 
it  was  several  hundred  years  after  the  Christian  era,  with 
its  first  day  of  the  week  worship.  He  did  not  change  the 
day. 

(Acts  XX:  30 .)  Paul  told  the  elders  of  the  church  at 
Ephesus,  "There  shall  men  arise  from  among  your  own 
selves  (true  eldership)  speaking  perverse  things,  to  draw 
away  disciples  after  them/'  Human  ambition,  the  bane 
of  true  religion.  Much  is  said  by  Paul  in  this  connection, 
which  I  hope  my  fellow  travelers  will  read. 

(Read  2nd  Thes.  2:3-13). 


18 


SUPPLEMENT. 

About  fifteen  years  ago  I  read  in  a  newspaper,  in 
which  an  Eastern  newspaper  man  said  that  he  received  a 
thousand  dollars  a  year  to  keep  the  truth  out  of  the  paper 
he  worked  on.  This  was  an  astonishing  revelation  to  me. 

I  have  never  joined  the  Socialist  party.  I  am  a  pro- 
fessor of  the  Christian  religion,  and  I  also  read  all  polit- 
ical and  much  religious  literature.  This  is  the  only  way 
in  which  a  person  can  become  broad-minded.  "He  who 
makes  or  loves  a  lie  is  in  danger."  How  can  a  man  tell 
the  truth  unless  he  reads  both  sides? 

I  find  much  in  Socialist  literature  agreeing  with  New 
Testament  religion — in  Socialism  the  Golden  Rule  is 
possible.  I  do  not  find  it  in  Capitalism, — it  is  too  good. 
Religion  itself  is  said  to  be  too  good  for  big  business. 

Socialism  teaches  that  every  man  should  have  a  home 
and  every  woman  a  husband.  That  would  be  the  purest 
democracy  on  earth.  Socialism  teaches  that  rent,  inter- 
est, and  profit  are  three  schemes  to  get  something  without 
working  for  it.  If  things  were  made  for  use  instead  of 
profit  there  would  be  a  premium  on  honesty.  The  Cap- 
italists* Press,  it  seems,  cannot  tell  what  Socialism  is.  It 
is  always  telling  what  it  is  not. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  late,  terrible  war,  we  were  told 
that  it  was  for  Democracy,  and  would  be  the  last  war, 
and  the  newspapers  of  the  belligerent  nations  of  that 
period  were  quoted  as  saying,  "After  this  war  the  work- 
ing class  will  probably  run  things."  I  ventured  this  to 
a  gentleman  who  said  there  would  have  to  be  a  man 
there.  I  suppose  he  meant  a  tyrant  like  Dias  or  the 
Kaiser.  I  said  that  the  workers  would  be  men  when 
they  run  things,  if  they  never  were  before.  (The  idea 
that  workers  are  not  men).  He  said  that  it  would  be 
just  as  bad  after  a  little.  I  said,  "Not  necessarily  so." 
Suppose  the  first  set  of  officers  were  all  bad, — recall  them 
and  make  the  best  selection;  the  second  lot  would  say, 

19 


"If  we  do  not  behave  ourselves  we  will  be  recalled  also." 
There  would  be  a  premium  on  good  behavior. 

Were  those  promises  to  the  soldiers  to  lure  them  to 
their  death  a  conspiracy  to  please  a  small  (eight  per  cent 
of  the  population)  minority,  and  have  fifteen  million 
killed,  more  or  less,  most  of  whom  were  working  men? 
Just  now,  July  20,  1919,  there  seems  to  be  a  persistent 
determination  that  the  laboring  class  shall  not  govern  in 
any  one  country.  Marshal  Foch  is  reported  as  saying 
that  he  will  drive  all  the  radicals  out  of  Europe.  The 
ex-Kaiser  never  tried  to  do  that,  and  last,  but  not  least, 
nearly  all  Christians  professing  to  follow  the  meek  and 
lowly  Jesus  seem  to  be  boosting  the  God  Mammon. 
Morally  and  politically  (big  interests). 

A  Socialist  paper  stated  about  fifteen  years  ago,  "A 
working  man  has  no  standing  in  a  Federal  court/'  and 
was  not  punished  for  libel.  When  money  rules,  the  ma- 
jority cannot. 

The  bible  says,  "He  that  oppresses  the  poor  reproaches 
his  maker."  Why  may  not  professors  of  religion  be 
justly  punished  for  this?  Voting  against  workers  might 
starve  them  to  death.  An  effort  is  being  made  about  this 
time  to  make  it  unlawful  to  find  fault  with  the  govern- 
ment or  propose  a  change.  Will  we  have  a  world  revo- 
lution? The  working  class  seem  to  think  a  religion 
which  has  no  Golden  Rule  in  it  is  a  fraud  (all  on  the 
working  man's  back).  The  women's  vote  is  to  come 
yet.  God  can  make  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  Him. 


20 


A  FEW  PHILOSOPHIC  IDEAS. 

I  have  read  that  natural  philosophers  live  longest.  I 
thought  why  might  not  I,  a  worker,  have  a  little  philos- 
ophy, even  if  it  is  home  made.  I  thought  there  ought  to 
be  a  strong  natural  affection  between  parents  and  off- 
spring, and  it  is  so.  It  ought  to  be  stronger  on  the  part 
of  the  mother, — this  is  generally  so.  Our  reason  would 
teach  that  the  sexes  ought  to  be  divided — this  is  so  with 
all  creatures,  as  far  as  I  know.  Was  this  accidental? 
The  white  of  the  egg  produces  the  body  of  the  chicken, 
the  yolk  is  simply  its  food,  just  enough  to  bring  it  out 
of  the  shell,  and  no  more,  composed  of  the  right  ma- 
terials, and  no  others.  Afterwards  it  never  needs  every- 
thing in  one  meal  any  more.  The  same  may  be  said  of 
the  kid  or  lamb  which  gathers  a  variety  of  food  after- 
wards. All  domestic  animals  live  five  times  as  long  as 
they  are  coming  to  maturity.  Men  ought  to  live  to  be 
a  hundred  years  old. 

Dr.  Hall  says,  "A  man  ought  to  eat  one-eighth  animal 
food,  and  send  one-half  of  the  energies  of  his  system 
through  his  mental  nature,  the  other  half  through  his 
muscles.  If  he  only  thinks  he  will  be  a  bunch  of 
nerves, — if  he  only  works  he  will  be  a  beast  of  burden." 

Abraham  paid  tithes  to  Melchisedec  while  he  was  yet 
in  the  loins  of  his  father,  a  bible  subject  quoted  in  He- 
brews. An  entity  too  small  to  be  seen  by  the  natural 
human  eye,  living  and  not  breathing,  and  becomes  a 
human  being  without  change  of  life.  The  microscope 
demonstrated  the  truth  of  this  fact.  Working  people 
should  try  to  be  philosophical  in  all  they  do  or  think. 
Everything  in  nature  is  deep  and  wonderful.  Man  is  said 
to  be  fearfully  and  wonderfully  made.  It  is  found  that  he 
may  eat  himself  sick  and  eat  himself  well  again.  If  he 
eats  too  much  or  too  often,  nature  cannot  remedy  the 
abuse.  The  older  he  is  the  less  food  he  needs.  Physical 
culture  is  beneficial  to  many  persons  afflicted  with  mus- 
cular rheumatism,  and  persons  confined  to  indoor  work. 

21 


I  do  not  know  as  the  working  class  are  ever  to  arrive 
at  their  natural  rights,  if  not,  they  may  still  do  much  to 
alleviate  their  burdens.  God  resists  the  proud  and  gives 
grace  to  the  humble. 

"The  evil  spirit  goes  out  of  a  man,  walks  in  dry 
places  seeking  rest,  and  finding  none  returns  to  the  house 
whence  he  went  out,  and  finding  it  swept  and  garnished, 
he  takes  seven  other  spirits  worse  than  himself  and  they 
enter  in  with  him  and  dwell  there." 

A  man  lives  in  his  own  body  and  furnishes  house 
room  to  seven  spirits  at  the  same  time.  We  cannot  see 
life  nor  perceive  it  by  any  of  our  senses.  We  are  sure 
we  have  it.  By  the  visible  the  invisible  is  made  to  ap- 
pear. We  shall  know  as  we  are  known.  We  shall  be 
like  Him  for  we  shall  see  Him  as  He  is. 

There  is  a  natural  body  and  a  spiritual  body.  We 
cannot  see  spirit  or  thought.  We  cannot  think  a  thought, 
or  perform  an  action  without  weighing  a  particle  less. 
"When  this  mortal  shall  have  put  on  immortality'/ 
(Paul). 

Paul  speaks  of  the  possibility  of  a  man  being  in  the 
body  and  out  of  it  in  this  lifetime. 

The  power  which  keeps  the  earth  in  its  place  is 
greater  than  the  earth.  It  gives  us  a  twenty-five  thousand 
mile  ride  every  day  and  many  million  miles  every  year. 
We  could  not  breathe  unless  the  atmosphere  goes  with 
the  earth.  When  the  days  and  nights  are  of  equal 
length,  the  sunlight  reaches  to  the  poles  and  no  further. 
If  a  man  were  at  each  pole  at  such  time  they  could  see 
the  sun  circling  over  the  equator ;  each  man  would  think 
he  was  on  top  of  the  earth. 

A  man  cannot  take  a  pebble  out  of  a  brook  and  write 
its  history. 

Wilfred  Hall  says  that  if  you  lay  down  a  piece  of 
iron  it  is  inert  matter  and  will  lie  there  forever  unless 
something  moves  it.  The  power  that  moves  it  is  a  phys- 
ical power,  being  near  a  magnet,  and  the  two  are  drawn 
together  by  a  power  invisible,  intangible.  We  cannot 
deny  the  power  is  there. 

22 


A  transparent  ball  will  be  rilled  with  light  and  not 
change  its  nature.  These  things  being  so,  there  may  be 
a  soul  in  the  human  body ;  it  may  be  as  large  as  the  body, 
the  counterpart  of  the  body.  Mr.  Hall  also  says  that  it 
seems  the  Creator  pursued  one  general  plan  in  bringing 
all  creatures  into  existence,  viz.,  the  egg  principle. 

Our  word  spring  has  twenty-four  meanings,  between 
nouns  and  verbs.  Its  first  or  primary  meaning  is  when 
a  man  jumps  off  a  bench  or  a  frog  springs  into  a  spring 
of  water;  many  modern  meanings — our  language  is  built 
that  way. 

I  have  read  that  the  sun  takes  four  inches  of  water 
from  the  ocean  every  month  in  steam.  It  is  formed  into 
cloud :  the  wind  drives  it  over  the  land  where  it  is  needed, 
otherwise  it  would  fall  back  into  the  ocean  when  it  cools. 
Millions  of  tons  of  rain  go  over  our  heads,  the  salt  re- 
mains in  the  ocean ;  by  this  means  the  springs  of  the 
land  surface,  otherwise  the  earth  might  not  be  worth 
much. 

If  the  sun  shines  in  the  east  window  of  a  house  in  the 
morning  and  in  the  west  window  of  the  same  house  in 
the  evening,  the  earth  has  turned  half  way  around. 

To  understand  language  we  must  know  who  speaks; 
to  whom  he  speaks,  and  what  his  theme  or  subject  is. 

Eight  souls  saved  by  water  means  eight  persons. 
Sometimes  it  means  God  given.  I  pray  God  to  bless  you 
wholly  in  body,  in  soul,  and  in  spirit.  Each  word  has 
its  own  individual  meaning  in  this.  Wilfred  Hall  says 
that  the  body  is  our  natural  body;  the  soul  our  human 
life ;  the  spirit  the  God  given  spirit  in  man,  the  annihila- 
tion of  which  it  is  impossible  to  prove. 

I  have  heard  my  aunt  say  that  the  best  people  in  the 
world  don't  know  that  they  are  the  best. 

The  Indian  says,  "White  man  thinks  he  owns  land, 
Indian  thinks  he  has  the  use  of  it."  The  Indian  was 
asked  if  he  was  lost.  He  said,  "No,  wigwam  lost." 

Thinking  that  it  may  please  children  whom  I  shall 
never  see  in  this  life,  I  write  a  few  lines,  composed  by 


23 


myself,  and  published  in  the  Pacific  Rural  Press,  San 
Francisco,  in  February,  1890 : 

"THE  LEVERET" 

One  lovely  day  in  the  month  of  May 

As  I  was  mowing-  clover, 
My  scythe  passed  fair,  o'er  a  baby  hare 

And  almost  rolled  him  over. 

Within  its  nest  it  sought  for  rest 

And  shelter,  free  from  danger ; 
Nor  did  he  dream,  so  it  would  seem, 

Of  harm,  thus  far  a  stranger. 

His  great,  full  eye  'neath  sunny  sky, 

He  deigned  not  the  closing-, 
Nor  did  he  wink  through  fear,  I  think, 

Or  hope  of  interposing. 

His  little  feet  were  not  yet  fleet, 
He  would  not  choose  the  roaming, 

Nor  haste  away ;  he'd  rather  stay 
As  innocence  becoming. 

Could  I  molest  that  beating  breast 

In  mother's  care  abiding, 
No  cruel  ways  in  youthful  days 

Shall  mar  his  true  confiding. 


I  wish  this  little  book  to  be  independent  so  the  reader 
may  feel  responsible  to  his  Creator  alone — knowing  well 
that  no  clergyman  will  stand  at  his  back  in  the  day  of 
Judgment. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY, 
BERKELEY 


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I 


PAT.  Ml.  It.  I80t 


416420 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


